Japan looks to regions to mount COVID fight as variant spreads

Passengers and passersby wearing protective face masks walk on the concourse, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, at Nagoya station in Nagoya, Japan, July 21, 2022. REUTERS/Issei Kato

TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan is encouraging regional authorities to take their own counter-measures against the spread of a new coronavirus variant that has sent cases surging to record levels, but there is no plan for any sweeping national measures.

A seventh wave of COVID-19 pushed the daily tally of new cases in Japan to a record 233,094 on Thursday as the BA.5 variant of virus spreads, putting pressure on medical services and disrupting company operations in some places.